Contractors at UK blaze tower asked to cut costs
LONDON: Contractors working on the renovation of London’s Grenfell Tower were asked by the building’s managers to reduce costs, with cheaper exterior cladding suggested as one alternative, The Times reported Friday.
At least 80 people were killed in the blaze that consumed the tower this month, with the cladding blamed for spreading the fire throughout the 24-floor block.
An “urgent nudge email” sent to contractor Artelia UK from the Kensington and Chelsea tenant management organisation (KCTMO), which runs the tower block on behalf of the local council, said that “we need good costs” for council deputy leader Rock Feilding-Mellen.
One suggestion was the use of aluminium panels instead of zinc, which is more fire-resistant, leading to a “saving of £293,368”.
Retired judge Martin MooreBick was on Thursday appointed to lead a public inquiry into the fire, which engulfed Grenfell Tower on June 14. Residents have expressed anger at the authorities’ handling of the fire, leading protesters on June 16 to storm the town hall which manages the social housing block, though there is no suggestion that fire safety concerns were ignored.
Victims identified so far include a six-month-old baby, her eight-year-old sister and their parents, who lived on the 20th floor.
The baby was found in her dead mother’s arms.
As part of an emergency fund, the government announced this month that each household whose home was destroyed would receive at least £5,500 (US$7,140, 6,250 euros).
Checks are under way at hundreds of high-rises in Britain fitted with the same cladding which encased Grenfell Tower.
So far, all 137 buildings tested have failed the fire safety checks.
The Kensington and Chelsea Council on Thursday failed in a bid to bar journalists from the first meeting of councillors since the disaster, and instead adjourned the meeting early.
LONDON: A retired judge appointed to lead a public inquiry into the London tower block fire on Thursday said he was “doubtful” survivors will be satisfied by the scope of the probe into the deadly blaze.
Martin Moore-Bick was named by Prime Minister Theresa May as the head of the probe into the inferno which engulfed Grenfell Tower on June 14, leaving at least 80 people dead.
On Thursday morning MooreBick visited the tower, speaking to the emergency services before meeting with survivors and local residents at a nearby church.
While he said the meeting had been “very useful”, he cautioned that the scope of the inquiry was limited to the start of the fire and its rapid development, in order to make recommendations on how to prevent a repeat of the catastrophe.
“I’m well aware the residents and the local people want a much broader investigation and I can fully understand why they would want that — whether my inquiry is the right way in which to achieve that I’m more doubtful,” MooreBick said. Public inquiries can take years and May has pushed for an interim report ahead of the full conclusions, which Moore-Bick said he hoped to produce within a year.
Residents have expressed anger at the authorities’ handling of the fire, leading protesters on June 16 to storm the town hall which manages the social housing block.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea subsequently announced a meeting scheduled for Thursday would be held in private, “in the light of the risk of disruption” and owing to security concerns.